Exploring Nature: Birds in Winter

It’s winter, and for birds, the living is definitely not easy. How do our feathered friends survive plunging temperatures?

I can set my thermostat to hold off an Arctic dip, but my resident chickadees hunker down and somehow survive. Ditto my hearty titmice.

Birds survive by growing a down coat that increases by one-third their feathery insulation. They also crank up their metabolism to stoke up their inner fire — often burning food five times faster than they do on a calm summer day.

They will often double their fat reserves, using the insulating fat to generate warmth during winter nights.

And, of course, many birds roost nestled close together, sharing body warmth.

After a relatively mild winter, things are changing with new Arctic air moving in. I’m also seeing some new birds at my feeder — a bright yellow goldfinch and several scarlet-hued house finches. I look forward to yellow- rumped warblers, the so-called “butter butts” that really brighten things up.

We’re lucky to live in a part of the country that has more sunshine than snow and where chains on tires are a real rarity. I haven’t used a snow shovel in years.

So while you may need some extra blankets at night and it may not always be mild and sunny, do remember, it could be a whole lot worse.

We could live in Billings, or Detroit, or several other cities where cold temps are brutal in wintertime. On the national weather map, these places are always shaded in blue and purple. Winter drags on and on in those cities.

Mark Twain had these encouraging words: “Don’t worry about old age; it doesn’t last long.”

Hopefully, our winter won’t last too long; once February is gone, the worst should be over.